2012 Fall Homes and Real Estate

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LOOK INSIDE . . . for articles from

LOCAL REALTORS ® ,

Mortgage Lenders, Your Service

Industry & More!

2 Fairbanks Daily News-MinerHomes and Real Estate

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Moving with a pro .............................. 2

Assessment offf? Challenge it ........... 4

Get ready for a Fairbanks winter ........ 6

Opportunities in real estate .............. 7

Create space with windows ................ 8

What young homebuyers want .......... 9

Housing inspections pay off .............. 14

Your neighborhood as an asset ......... 15

Words that sell ................................. 18

Tune up your garage ......................... 19

Open house tips ............................... 20

Famous real estate quotes ................ 21

Five easy $100 fixes ......................... 22

IndexBy KAREN CONOVER

Selling and/or buying a home can be a very stressful time in one’s life. The difficult

task of moving everything you own often adds to that stress. As you guide your clients through the sale and purchase of their house, here are a few reminders you can share with them to aid that process.

Professional estimates are highly recommended. They are free of charge. We recommend having an estimate done as early in your relocation process as possible. This service is designed to give the ship-per an idea of the possible financial costs of having an experienced team of movers pack and transport their belongings, as well as ensuring things go as smoothly as possible on moving day.

Most people build up quite a col-lection of unwanted junk over the years. Why pay to have something shipped that you don’t plan on keeping or have any use for? Now is a good time to eliminate unneces-sary expense and inconvenience by having a garage sale in an attempt to rid yourself of surplus items.

If you don’t want or need profes-

sional packing ser-vices and intend to do it yourself, new and used boxes are available that are specifically made for moving various household items. Please use quality moving boxes, we do not recommend grocery or liquor store boxes.

If you opt to have a professional estimate done, feel free to request referrals during the assessment. There is no obligation, and the assurance that the company you choose will give you exceptional ser-vice is important. An experienced and conscientious team of profes-sionals will provide you with the peace of mind that your possessions are in good hands.

Be sure to request a copy of “Your Rights and Responsibili-ties When You Move.” This is a publication intended to assist the consumer in fully understanding

what is required of them and afford them an awareness of their rights, as well. Being informed is always an advan-tage.

It is essen-tial that you are fully aware of the extent of your moving company’s liabil-ity for loss and damage. Although the movers may do everything in their power to take the utmost care with your items, occasion-

ally mishaps occur. Once again, being informed and protected in the unlikely event you will need to repair or replace something is your best bet.

Following these guidelines can assist you with having a smooth and more organized move.

Karen Conover is lifelong Fairbanksan and fourth generation owner/operator of Sourdough Companies.

A pro can lessen stress of moving

Karen Conover

3Friday, September 21, 2012 Homes and Real Estate

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By DAVID PRUHS

Ninety percent of the Fairbanks North Star Borough bud-

get is through real estate taxes levied on real estate in the borough.

The Assessor’s Office in the borough building is staffed with competent apprais-ers who have an extensive past work history in either appraising or real estate sales prior to borough employment.

The borough appraiser is tasked with providing an “assessed value” on your property as of Jan. 1. After this date, if your property has changed, been damaged or destroyed, there is nothing the appraiser can do as they are held by statute to value it as of the first day of the year. Each appraiser has an individ-ual area, such as commercial buildings, Farmers Loop, Che-na Ridge, Westgate or Aurora Subdivisions, Chena Hot Springs Road, North Pole, so they are very knowledgeable

of values in specific areas and/or types of real estate.

Your real estate assess-ment is broken down into two categories: land valuation and structure valuation. Outbuild-ings, decks and porches are placed under the structure valuation.

Valuation notices are then sent out to property own-ers the last Friday in Janu-ary. Owners have the month

of February to contact the appraiser who valued their home and discuss with them the value, how they formed their opinion of the assess-ment and have them alter/adjust or lower the value. If, for whatever reason, the owner cannot conclude the valuation difference with the Appraiser during this month, they can ask the appraiser to help them fill out an appeal form.

What this does is automati-cally extends your protest/appeal period until you have an official hearing before the Board of Equalization. Appeal hearings are in April, May and June.

Now here are some of the secrets at being successful in lowering your assessed value.

Be very polite, at all times, to the appraiser. The apprais-er is a very nice person, is human and is an expert in valuation. Being rude, aggres-sive or telling them that the mayor or an assemblyman

is your personal friend will not help you in lowering you assessment. Always be profes-sional, polite and courteous and respect their knowledge of real estate.

Review the data the appraiser have on your prop-erty. Is the structure size they have on record correct? Do they show that the home was remodeled or upgraded and it is not in the condition that they believe it to be in?

Review the comparables sales in the valuation that they used. Are the loca-tions, structures, conditions of improvements similar to yours? An example, you have a home with a basement, they compared it to a two-story home. They are saying the comparable gives the structure a price of $100 per square foot. The value differ-ence for a basement versus above-grade improvements is different. How old is the comparable as to relevancy in comparison to your property?

What is quality and condi-tion level of your building versus those of the compa-rable sales that the appraiser has assigned? Be able to show that your condition is inferior to the comparable sales used and ask them to then adjust your value down.

If you have not been able to settle on a value with the appraiser, the next step is a hearing before the Board of Equalization. The sad part is, you have already lost and you don’t know it yet. Every year, the Board of Equalization will hear 35 to 60 valuation disputes.

For the eight years I was on the Board of Equalization, we usually overturned no values and never overturned more than two property valuations in a calendar year. Why? Because the appraisers in the Assessor’s Office are experts. This is what they do this for a living. In general, they have better data and

Think your real estate assessment is off? Challenge it

Please see PRUHS, Page 5

David Pruhs

Review the data the appraiser have on your property. Is the structure size they have on record correct? Do they show that the home was remodeled or upgraded and it is not in the con-dition that they believe it to be in? Review the comparables sales in the valuation that they used.


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resources to present a better valuation case to the Board of Equalization than you do.

An individual property owner/taxpayer does not have the resources to present such a case and the Board of Equalization looks at only the facts in valuation, noth-ing else. Sadly, the process is stacked against you to win. So if you do end up in a hearing before the Board of Equaliza-tion, here are some ways to help you be successful:

• DO NOT SAY that it is unfair that the property value went up 45 percent in the past year. What has happened is that the appraiser has reviewed your property. There are more than 57,000 indi-vidual parcels of real estate in the Fairbanks North Star

Borough and 11 appraisers on staff. Your property gets a personal review every three to five years.

If the appraiser says you did not allow them into your structure to review their assessment analysis, you just lost. The Board of Equaliza-tion will take the view that you are hiding something and the appraisers’ judgment is correct. It is up to you to prove the case of lower valua-tion. Also, if you believe that by allowing them in, your assessment may go higher in the future, don’t let them in. It is not mandatory that you provide them access.

• You are in a professional hearing. Be prepared. By stat-ute, you are only needed to be given your valuation 24 hours prior to your hearing. You will not have a lot of time for

formal review of their compa-rable sales.

• In your presentation, have better data, whether it’s information about the structure, lot, neighborhood and better quality comparable sales. Find any sales that have happened in your immediate area, neighborhood or road. Show the board the sales price, structural facts, record-ing date and the book and page of the recorder’s office showing that it was a true sale.

• Show the Board of Equal-ization the differences in the comparables used for your property by the appraiser and be able to show why the design, quality and condition of their comparables is better than your property.

In the hearing, the apprais-er will present their valuation

case first, then you can ask the appraiser questions. Then you will be able to present your valuation case and the appraiser will be able to ask you questions. Each side gets 15 minutes to present their case, unless it is a complicated valuation (usually commercial or industrial property) and the board will extend the case time.

Then each side gets to give rebuttal testimony only to those aspects that were presented by each side. No new evidence may be entered. Only dispute facts that were presented and emphasize what you believe to be true and correct as to the valua-tion of your property. Be pro-fessional and courteous to the appraiser and the Board of Equalization at all times.

Remember, try to get your

value changed prior to the hearing. If you have credible aspects that show the apprais-er why your value should be changed, they will most likely change it for you. We are very fortunate as the appraisers at the borough are professional, courteous and knowledgeable in their valuations and are always polite to the public so please treat them that way too. It will make a difference, now or in the future.

David Pruhs has a degree in business administration with a con-centration in real estate and finance He is a licensed real estate instruc-tor in Alaska, was an appraiser for seven years in the Fairbanks area and a member of the Board of Equalization for eight years. He is a present member of the Planning Commission. David Pruhs has been in the real estate business in Fair-banks for 30 years.

PRUHS: Tips and advice for hearing before Board of EqualizationContinued from Page 4


By PHIL RINGSTAD

Winter is coming to Alaska. What’s the key to thriving —

and not just surviving — dur-ing an Alaska winter?

With our extreme winters can come extreme disasters to our homes. Homeowners can face house freeze-ups, pipes freezing and bursting, chimney fires, boiler and fur-

nace malfunctions that could blow soot throughout a home. Preparation cannot prevent all emergencies but it can help significantly.

Here are six suggestions to make your winter more com-fortable and to help ensure the transition into next spring goes smoothly.

1. Have a licensed techni-cian clean and service your boiler or furnace. This should

be done annually and now, before it gets cold, is a perfect time. Technicians will have to turn your boiler off while ser-vicing it and waiting until tem-peratures fall to minus 20 can leave you with a cold house and extra work on the system to get back up to temperature.

Servicing your boiler or furnace will help ensure your system is operating at peak efficiency and is in good condi-tion to get you through the winter without any emergency repairs, or worse, a frozen home from a breakdown, which can cause thousands of dollars in damages.

2. Hire a chimney sweep and clean your woodstove/fireplace chimney. I have our boiler stack and woodstove chimney cleaned once a year. If you’re burning wood as a source of heat, make sure to only burn seasoned wood to prevent creo-sote from building in the stack. If creosote is built up in suf-ficient quantities it could ignite inside the chimney, resulting in a volcanic chimney fire. I have seen too many chimney fires through the years that could have been prevented with annual cleaning.

3. Turn off all exterior spigots, and blow or drain the lines. These pipes can freeze, expand and split open. By

turning off the water to the spigots and draining the line, you prevent that pipe from bursting and potentially drain-ing water into your basement.

4. Clean out your gutters and downspouts. You may be surprised to see how much stuff can accumulate in one season. You can prevent ice dams building up in the spring and causing damage to your home.

5. Clean out your septic tank. Regular cleaning can prolong the life of your system and a septic tank with too much sludge can cause prob-lems in the winter. Fixing a

failed septic system in the win-ter is difficult and expensive. The best time to clean your tank is summer and early fall, as the ground will not be fro-zen and biological activity in the tank can re-establish itself before it gets too cold.

We often find the spring brings septic backups, which are cause by a high water table caused by melted snow that can create pressure on the bot-tom of the tank and push the sludge from the tank back into the house.

6. Weatherproof your home. Now is the time to seal up those areas around entryways, garage doors and windows, and add insulation in your attic and crawl space. You may consider signing up for a home energy audit, which may allow a rebate for some of the upgrades that you make.

Properly preparing your home for the rigors of a Fair-banks winter, you can worry less and instead enjoy all that Fairbanks offers for cold weather fun.

Phil Ringstad of Ringstad Carpet & Restoration can help with any questions you may have. Call him at 458-8304. Ringstad Restoration is the preferred vendor for water, fire and smoke loss with major insur-ance companies and can help you if your home has flooded, frozen up or has had smoke damage.

6 things to do before a Fairbanks winter closes in

Phil Ringstad


By ERIC CHRISTENSENCreators.com

Since the housing bubble burst and a severe national recession quickly followed, the news has been filled with stories of foreclosed homes, the collapse of new home construction and banks struggling to survive. But amid this bad news, there is a silver lining.

Realtor Diane Petersen Schline says: “The nega-tive news surrounding the real estate market is exactly what makes it the best time to invest. (Mortgage) rates are at record lows and have been for an extended period of time.”

Glenn Dickson, an active real estate investor and pres-ident of Complete Property Services LLC, a property management company, adds, “Because of the foreclosures, you can buy properties today at considerable discounts to what their already depressed values are.” With a few tips, the inexperienced can begin successfully investing in real estate.

First, investors should educate themselves about buying property. Schline says, “Each buyer has a dif-ferent level of knowledge, so be realistic with yourself about what you are truly capable of doing.”

Dickson says there are a variety of programs that teach real estate investing, but the best place to start is a local real estate club. “You can meet people doing this, learn what works and what doesn’t,” Dickson says. But when deciding whether to invest with a group, Schline cautions: “Any situation that involves multiple par-ties automatically creates a breeding ground for prob-lems, so trusting your part-ners is an enormous aspect of the future success. The advantage, of course, is that the purchaser needs less cash upfront.”

Second, an investor should decide on an invest-ment strategy. Dickson says: “There are two ways to

make money in real estate: the slow way and the fast way. ... The fast way is to buy, fix and sell.” Schline calls this strategy “high risk, high reward,” and Dickson dislikes this strategy because a property that doesn’t sell quickly won’t turn a profit. Schline prefers the slow way, and Dickson agrees: “Where you can buy and hold, you should be able to participate in the market’s recovery over the next few years.”

Third, an investor should pick a type of property to buy. Dickson advises against condos because they tend to lose value faster and appreci-ate slower than houses, and condo association fees can reduce your profit. Although Schline says that “variable expenses for maintenance may be higher with a stand-

alone home.”Fourth, pick a location

to invest in. Schline says, “For an investment property, (location) can be the differ-ence between vacancy and no vacancy, and that can be the ultimate game-changer.”

Dickson suggests look-ing for neighborhoods that are economically robust and have a low percentage of foreclosures because that will translate into “a more stable tenant base that takes better care of the property (and) pays better rent.”

Schline also advises inves-tors to investigate the neigh-borhood’s development plans that might affect views or access to public transporta-tion, for example.

Finally, an investor must select a specific property.

This decision all comes down to income (rent) versus expenses (carrying costs and the costs to make the prop-erty ready for renters). Car-rying costs can include mort-gage payments, taxes, insur-ance, special assessments and utilities. The investor or a property management company must also handle occasional maintenance.

Make-ready costs include such things as repairs, paint-ing and replacing old appli-ances. To receive a higher rent more quickly, both Dickson and Schline recom-mend hiring a contractor to complete these jobs quickly and professionally instead of doing them yourself.

A key to profitable real estate investment is buying at the right price. Dickson

aims to buy property at 75 percent of the property’s estimated market value once it has been made ready, but that figure can rise if investors are competing. Experienced investors and realtors can help a begin-ner make accurate pricing assessments. Of course, after buying a property, investors should always have a thor-ough inspection performed on the property.

The sad state of the real estate market can mean good news for investors if they buy intelligently, quickly prepare the property, and attract and retain renters. If done correctly, the property should generate a steady profit. Perhaps it’s time you considered adding real estate to your investment portfolio.

Depressed real estate market offers opportunity


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Buying a Fixer

Upper?

By CHELLE CORDEROCreators.com

Bring light into your home to make a room more invit-ing, seem bigger and also save on energy. A combination of natural and artificial light, as well as color schemes and design, can update and trans-form your home into a warm and comfortable haven. Visual stimulation and exposure to light are critical to well-being and can add additional value to a home for prospective buyers. Light can affect our productivity, ability to learn, circadian rhythms and health.

Eileen Claar, social media product expert at Home Depot, says, “There are 10 ways to increase the amount of light and visibility into your house.” Skylights, windows, doors, window treatments, room color or paneling, artifi-cial lighting, and even the type

of light bulb used can make a huge difference in how bright your life can be.

“With added natural light and ventilation from skylights, homeowners have attractive and effective tools to balance the light and improve venti-lation in their homes,” says Ross Vandermark, national product manager for sky-light manufacturer VELUX America. Skylights can make a small or dark room feel larger and more open. Tubular sky-lights can be installed around attic obstructions, reflect light where needed, and fit into tight spaces.

Easily installed accessories to adjust and control light will contribute to energy efficiency. “Venetian blinds are available to adjust light, as are blinds to diffuse light and blinds to block light,” Vandermark says “and the accessories, as well as the units themselves,

can be operated by remote control.” Solar blinds are also available that qualify for a 30 percent federal tax credit.

Consider installing more large windows in your home. Picture windows and bay win-dows provide for a wide view-ing areas and can add attrac-tive features to your home’s exterior. An awning window installed above doors or other windows will add additional light, and it often opens by using a crank handle for improved ventilation. Doors with glass insets or glass-side panels will allow more light into the entrance of your home. Sliding patio doors or French doors from your deck or patio are also great sources of natural light.

Think about both privacy and energy efficiency in your window treatments. Select sheer curtains with cornices or scarf valances, light-filtering roller shades, or solar shades to allow maximum light through the windows while maintaining privacy. Wide blinds will allow more light through when opened. Blinds with the top-down-bottom-up feature will allow more light from the top of the window while affording privacy.

“A light color on the walls will help brighten up a room and make the space feel larg-er,” according to Claar. “Keep all of the walls in the room the same shade for continuity and to create an open space. Be sure to also freshen up the ceiling with a light coordinat-ing color.”

Pay special attention to kitchen lighting. The kitchen is often the central work area of the home and also where families gather for evening meals and discussions. Track lighting and well-placed hang-ing fixtures can add additional light and focus, while adding beauty, depth and functional-ity to the room.

Under-counter lighting can make chores such as cooking and even washing dishes seem less tiring.

Windows create space, add light to your home

Creators.com photo courtesy of VELUX America Inc.

Throw light onto the work and dining areas in your kitchen to make the hub of your home welcoming.

9Friday, September 21, 2012 Homes and Real Estate 57400002-9-21-12H

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By DIANE SCHLINDWEINCreators.com

When Dustin Thomas and his wife, Karen, set out to purchase their first home a few years back, they knew just what they were looking for. With their unborn son due very soon, they were seeking an affordable home in a safe neighborhood with highly rated schools.

“When we found a home with all those features and an updated kitchen and bath, we didn’t waste time making an offer,” Dustin remembers. “Luckily, our offer was accept-ed right away and we moved in just days before the baby was born.”

While they were pretty typical in what they wanted, the Thomases — at 28 and 27 years old — were a bit younger and paid less than today’s average first-time buyer, says Walter Molony of the National Association of Realtors. Because they were in an area of the country where homes are moderately priced, the Thomases paid just under $100,000 for their newly updated three-bedroom, one-bath home.

Molony says according to a 2011 study, the median age of a first-time buyer is 31. “The typical first-time buyer purchased a 1,570 square foot home costing $155,000,” he adds.

Young buyers like the Thomases may not be pur-chasing in upper income neighborhoods, but they are particular about where they live. “Location — so clichÇd but it’s the truth,” says John Port, a Century 21 Alliance Realtor and author of the website YoungHomeBuyers.com. “Now, more than ever, this wave of young buyers is extremely conscious of loca-tion.

“They are witnessing firsthand how difficult it can be to resell a home in a bad market,” he says. “The savvy buyer wants to be sure that if they decide to resell the home in the next five to seven years, they won’t struggle because of the location.”

Since so many young buy-ers are starting families, they

are concerned about living in an area with a good school district, says Port. “The aver-age private school in our area costs $400 per month tuition to start for one child,” he says. “That $400 a month can give you as much as $75,000 more in buying power. Many buyers are looking for areas with strong school districts, knowing that when their children are old enough, they

will not be forced into sending them to private school.”

Port says he isn’t surprised that young couples are look-ing for what he calls “the ooh, ahh kitchen.” “Young buyers, especially women, want that ‘wow’ kitchen that will make their friends ooh and ahh when they see it,” he says. “Granite, marble or Corian countertops, custom cabinets and overhead lighting in the

kitchen can make or break every showing.”

And what do men want? “Girls get the kitchen, but guys get the ‘man cave,’” says Port. “Almost every couple I show a home to, the man immediately starts looking for his bar room, TV room, game room, whatever it is. This has become a huge sensation as of late.”

Other top-10 requests include already updated homes, abundant functional living space, open floor plans, at least 1.5 baths, updated heating and air-conditioning units, and newer roofs and windows.

“Most of the older homes did not have open floor plans, and today’s buyer wants it wide open. People love to entertain, and it’s easy to entertain with a wide-open floor plan. I spend 75 percent of my day talking about which walls we can get rid of in homes,” Port says.

“As for the systems, this is something that most buy-ers aren’t looking at, but

they should be,” he says. “If you are buying brand new, then you have no worries here, but if you are buying a middle-aged home with a new kitchen, new baths, and new flooring, but you have a 30-year-old heater, a 25-year-old roof and 20-year-old windows, you may find yourself spend-ing more money on those systems than you would have ever spent on updating baths and kitchens. Plus, updating a kitchen is fun — updating a heater, not so much!”

Finally, good mortgage rates and a “buyer’s market” are making it easier for young people to find “more house” for less money. “Money is cheap, cheaper than ever,” Port says. “Buyers are start-ing to think maybe it makes sense to buy the ‘next house’ first.”

Buyers that may have been prone to starting with a townhome before moving to a single (detached) home are now thinking, ‘If I buy the detached home now, I may not have to move in five years.’ “

What 20- and 30-somethings are looking for in a home

Creators.com photo courtesy of Diane Schlindwein

Many men look for a place in the house to have a “man cave” with a bar.

10 Fairbanks Daily News-MinerHomes and Real Estate 57399964-9-21-12H

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2105 S. Cushman St. (in the log building)

By KRISTEN CASTILLOCreators.com

The housing market may have been a little unsteady in recent years, but the real estate industry is reviving. Buyers need to be sure the properties they’re consider-ing are good deals on steady ground.

Red flagsEven if a house looks great

from the curb, lots of trouble spots may be lurking in and around the home.

“Look for cracked bricks on the outside,” says Kelly Wat-kins, broker associate with J.P. Weigand and Sons Inc. “That’s always a red flag.”

Check the property’s sur-

roundings, too.“The main thing outside is

drainage,” says Watkins. “The slope of the yard should be going away from the house, so when it rains, water goes away from the house.”

Inside a home, check out windows, doors and flooring for signs of defects.

“Door jams are a good indi-cator if they’re not square,” says Rob Ernst, the owner, inspector and energy auditor for Certified Structure Inspec-tor. “Look for doors that rub or have been trimmed.”

Stairs and railings should be secure. Make sure walls aren’t leaning and flooring isn’t uneven. Often floors appear to be OK, but in real-ity, they feel uneven.

Potential problems can be all around the home.

“It’s important to look beyond eye level,” says Ernst, who is licensed by the National Association of Home Inspectors Inc., a nonprofit for certified and licensed home inspectors. “Look up and look down.”

Look up, and you may find, for example, spots on the walls and ceilings, which are signs of water damage.

Get an inspectionThough homes “settle”

over time, typically that set-tling won’t result in major defects.

So what’s a big deal, and what’s nothing to worry about? That’s often tough for homebuyers to decide and is at least one reason why many buyers hire an independent home inspector.

“Most people realize this is the biggest investment of their life,” says Marv Gold-stein, president of the Ameri-can Society of Home Inspec-tors, a professional society of

home inspectors, which has 5,000 members.

He estimates that about 70 percent of homebuyers hire an inspector. “You’re really gambling with your financial future if you don’t get a home inspection,” Goldstein says.

Inspectors check out a home’s plumbing, heating, roofing, grading and struc-tural soundness, and look for wet basements. Remem-ber that inspectors can only inspect; they can’t do any repair work or recommend anyone to make the suggested fixes. They also can’t tell you whether or not to buy the property.

“There are so many little things that can be left undone,” says Watkins, who recommends getting inspec-tions done on old and new homes. “Make sure something hasn’t been missed.”

Many buyers also have their insurance agent visit the property to decide whether it’s insurable as-is or needs any repairs before it can be insured.

It’s also a good idea for buyers to attend the inspec-tion to see what’s normal and abnormal, as well as to find out any nuances of the home.

Be detailedHire your own inspector.

Going with a seller’s inspector or their agent’s “preferred” inspector could result in a conflict of interest. You want to be the inspector’s main priority.

Generally, inspections happen within a week to 10 days of the offer to purchase a home. The reports are usu-ally prepared within 24 to 48 hours after the inspection.

Prices for home inspections differ all over the country, but the range is from $300 to $600.

Though most inspections take about two to three hours, they can last longer depend-ing on the size of the home and the surrounding property.

If an inspection reveals problems — for example, a bad roof — the buyers have the choice to walk away from the prospective deal or to negotiate with the seller to lower the asking price or fix some or all of the problems.

The good news? “Most everything is fixable,” says Watkins.

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By SHARON NAYLORCreators.com

With so many other prop-erties on the market, you can make your listed home stand out — and improve your odds of bids — by “selling” your neighborhood as well. After all, the living experience extends beyond your prop-erty lines as buyers look for the proximity of parks and playgrounds, restaurants and even medical facilities. They want to live in an enjoyable, convenient, and safe area filled with friendly neighbors who will create a terrific com-munity for them and for their children.

You won’t be able to talk with potential buyers at an open house, but you can convey the strengths of the neighborhood in several effec-tive ways:

• Include neighborhood details in your home listing, and go beyond ‘the usuals,’

such as the names of schools in the area.

• Prepare an “About Our Neighborhood” document that lists enticing attractions. Your real estate agent can set copies of this document out with the official listing docu-ment at your open house for potential buyers to read and take home with them.

• Ask your agent about “Find a Neighborhood,” which is a tool on the National Association of Real-tors’ website, listing in-depth details of your surrounding area. Some features of this tool include community his-tory, such as historical land-marks and popular festivals that take place in your town; the demographics of your neighbors by age; weather patterns; school rankings; and awards won by your town, such as “Best Of” in your county. Realtor.com refers to a neighborhood’s “hip factor” and mentions

such attractive details as “distance to major sports franchises.” A buyer may see a very enjoyable social sched-ule in his or her future.

When writing up your list of neighborhood perks, be sure to include the following:

• Nearby parks and play-grounds. Young families with kids — and newlyweds soon to have children — will like the idea of being able to walk or bike to quality parks and play areas. A new trend in the park topic is the mention of dog parks, so if you have a quality one near you, add it to your list.

• Nearby town activities that are inexpensive. This

includes community pools and golf courses.

• Neighborhood friend-liness. On your printout, mention the fact that the neighborhood hosts a block party every summer, that the neighborhood ladies have a book club or organic vegeta-ble co-op from a local family farm, and that your wonder-ful next-door neighbors take in your mail while you’re away. Mention that your neighbors are quiet, if that is true, because loud neighbors who host parties every week-end are a turnoff to buyers.

• Neighborhood safety. Write about the great neigh-borhood watch system, as

well as how the township sends out emails to alert resi-dents to any potential risks in the area. No town is 100 percent safe from crime, so if there have been car break-ins on the other side of town, you’re better protected from being victimized with the warning to remove your GPS from your car and lock up.

“I also added that our town is excellent at snow-plowing and salting the roads,” says home seller Elizabeth Curry. “You never know what kind of trouble buyers had at their former residences with that kind of

Sell your neighborhoodYour house isn’t the only selling point

Creators.com photo courtesy of Houses Tri-Cities

Sharewhat the neighborhood has to offer.

Please see NEIGHBORHOOD, Page 17


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thing.”• Nearby transportation.

If you live outside of a met-ropolitan area, mention how easy it is to hop a train just a few blocks away, to take visitors into the city, or how short your commute is.

• Availability of neighbor-hood baby sitters. This reg-isters with buyers who have children, especially when you say you can provide a list of accredited sitters.

• Free fitness attractions. Mention hiking and biking paths, trails, public tennis and basketball courts, and other attractions for those who enjoy a healthy lifestyle.

“I added the fact that the church in town offers $10 Zumba classes on Thursday nights,” says home seller Kayla Chiles. “It’s some-

thing I really enjoyed, and takes the guesswork out of a new homeowner’s search for affordable fitness classes.”

• Holiday cheer. Write about how festive the neigh-borhood is during the holi-days, with homes decorated, kids having sledding parties, progressive holiday parties for adults, and more. When you portray your neighbor-hood as a fun place to live, new residents will get excited about making new friends.

It’s these experiential details that can elevate your home above a competitive house in your town. When their listing only supplies the basics, yours stands out in comparison. And potential buyers will be able to tell in your write-up how much you loved living in your home and enjoyed your neighborhood.

NEIGHBORHOOD: DetailsContinued from Page 15

Creators.com photo courtesy of Jack Newcombe

The amenities in your neighborhood can be equally important as the amenities in your home.



A well-written listing can elevate your home above com-peting properties, enticing buyer interest and well-priced bids. Though you could leave the writing of your home’s listing to your real estate agent, it’s wise to get involved, offering to spruce up your home’s description with some key words and descriptions. A quality real estate agent will welcome your input, and together you’ll craft a listing that stands out.

According to a study by the University of Windsor and researchers from Canada Mortgage and Housing, certain phrasings can affect home sale prices and the amount of time it takes to close on a listing.

For instance, listings with the words “beautiful” or “gor-geous” sold a home 15 percent faster than listings without those descriptions, and often at a higher price. Landscaping references landed sales 20 per-cent more quickly. In contrast, the term “must-see” had virtu-

ally no effect on a listing’s suc-cess. The words “motivated” and “must sell” actually hurt a home’s sale, slowing it down by 30 percent.

Here are your guidelines to participating in your home’s listing so you can ensure that you have the perfect wording to boost your home’s selling price as quickly as possible:

1) Speak to your real estate agent as soon as possible, ide-ally upon first meeting, so that he or she knows of your wishes to help write the listing.

2) Learn the magic words and phrases of the industry. Jim Remley, author of “Selling Your Home in Any Market,” says to avoid the terms “fixer-upper” and “needs sweat equity,” which can turn off a buyer who would rather buy a property in move-in condi-tion. The magic word for such a ready-to-move-in property is “turnkey.”

Avoiding words that make prospective buyers fear a future of expensive fixes is wise, unless your home is actu-ally a “teardown” in disrepair and your target market is

developers looking for prop-erty to demolish and rebuild. “Cozy” makes a buyer think rooms are small, even if you’re describing your roomy master bedroom. The wrong descrip-tive that’s considered a nega-tive buzzword will hurt your home in the market.

3) Brainstorm what’s new. While the listing itself describes all rooms by dimen-sions, as well as the presence of central air, a fireplace and other facts about your home’s attractions, add in the com-ments or description section such attention-getters as “new fireplace in the master bed-room” or “new bamboo floor-ing in the den and bedrooms.” If you’ve chosen eco-friendly paint for your home, add “VOC-free paint in all rooms,” which will please buyers who value green living. What else is new within the past several years? New lighting fixtures? New landscaping and stone-work in the spacious back-yard? Add those selling details to your listing.

4) Make lifestyle and enter-tainment a focus. Again, the

dimensions of your living room and dining room don’t get a buyer imagining what it would be like hosting holiday dinners there. So add “ideal entertain-ing space for more than 70 guests, with indoor and out-door celebration areas, includ-ing French doors opening out to our new stone terrace and built-in Weber grill and wet bar.” Buyers will then imagine their 70 guests enjoying mar-garitas and filet mignons on that terrace.

5) Play up comfort. No one knows your home like you do, so mention your Energy Star windows and new insulation, creating a warm home in win-ter and cool home in summer. When you convey how buyers would feel in your home, your listing again rises above the

competition.6) Describe organizing

space. If your closets feature professionally designed orga-nizing systems, make that a must in your listing. Mention that your basement, garage and attic provide organizing areas, and your kitchen pan-tries have been designed by a professional for optimal order.

7) Note your permits. Buy-ers want to be sure your fixes and additions have been done to code, so note if each of your indoor and outdoor features were completed with permits, by reputable professionals. The buyer will see that you operated with integrity and that you cared enough to hire experts for your home projects.

8) Show luxury. The National Bureau of Economic Research says that homes listed with specifics such as “granite” kitchen counters and “maple” closets tend to garner higher home sales. Think like your buyer. Which words say “luxury”? A spa-style master bathroom?

9) Seek truth. Everything in a home listing must be truth-ful, so if your floor is actually a softwood such as fir, do not list it as hardwood, even if you refer to it as such in conversa-tion. A large closet described as a walk-in when it is not is a misleading element.

10) Avoid vague descrip-tions. “Contemporary” might not mean the same to a buyer as it does to you.

In addition to your descrip-tions, take at least a dozen well-lit, high-resolution photos of your home’s details, includ-ing indoor and outdoor spaces, for inclusion in your media gallery.

Words that sell

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For many families, the end of summer means it’s time to put away the inflatable kid-die pools, camping equipment and gardening tools for the season.

If you plan to shove this gear into arbitrary piles around the edge of the garage, you’re not alone: Many Americans say the garage is the most disorga-nized room in their home, according to the Interna-tional Association of Business Organizing.

But a messy garage is not just unsightly, it can cost you money. People with cluttered garages tend to waste time searching for misplaced items and end up re-buying things they already own, says Erica Ecker, a professional orga-nizer in New York City.

They also risk injury.

Garages often hold hedge trimmers, table saws, toxic chemicals and other danger-ous items alongside children’s scooters and bikes.

An overstuffed garage puts your vehicles at risk, too. When the car door can’t swing open without hitting a wheelbarrow or workbench, it gets dented and dinged. Monica Ricci, a professional organizer who makes appear-ances on the HGTV show “Mission: Organization,” says that in many homes, garages are so filled with clutter they stop serving their main pur-pose.

“When your garage is too full to park a car in, that expensive piece of machin-ery sits out in the elements every day and night while your clutter stays cozy and dry inside,” Ricci says. “What kind of sense does that make?”

Whether your garage is

slightly disheveled or looks more like an overstuffed stor-age unit, the changeover to fall is an ideal time to give it a tune-up using these steps from organizational experts:

PrepareTackling a junk-filled

garage is physically demand-ing. Ecker advises pacing yourself and setting a sched-ule in advance. Consider renting an outdoor storage container so your belongings aren’t sitting in the driveway or in the house for a month while you finish reorganizing the garage.

Enlist help. If you can’t afford a professional organiz-er, recruit relatives or offer to swap labor with a friend who is planning a similar house-hold project. An assistant can

help you move heavy objects, keep you motivated and ask objective questions (“Do you really use that?”), says Ellen Kutner, who runs the com-pany Simply Organized in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Empty and sort Empty the contents of the

garage out into the driveway and begin sorting it into piles, grouping like things together. Categories will vary by household, but you may start with Sporting Equip-ment, Tools, Hardware, Car Care, Lawn Care, Seasonal, Toys and Household Goods.

PurgeThe next step — paring

down your stuff — is the most important. First, toss anything broken or expired.

Return borrowed items to their owners. If you own mul-tiples of something, donate the duplicates or sell them. Analyze how often things get used. “Too often the garage can be like a time capsule,” Ricci says. Are you storing camping equipment from when your college-age kids were Cub Scouts? Time to get rid of it.

Find ways to downsize bulky items. For example, Ecker says, rather than stor-ing mostly-empty paint cans for future touch-up jobs, keep a mason jar-size container of each leftover paint, labeled with the brand, color name and finish. “Being organized is not about being neat and tidy, it’s about limits and boundaries,” Kutner says.

Fall is the perfect time to tune up your garage

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When prospective buyers tour your home, they’re not just looking at the beauty of your layout and decor but also experiencing your home inside and out. They’re assessing how your space feels, how it smells and whether they can envision raising children in the home, hosting holiday din-ners in the dining room and entertaining in the backyard.

With so many thoughts rac-ing through potential buyers’ minds, it’s important to avoid the five unexpected things that can turn them off and also learn how to eliminate them.

1) Sloppy paint edges. Buy-ers who want a move-in-ready home may notice where your wall paint meets your molding or your white ceiling. If they see uneven paint lines, drips, paint on the molding, or the telltale dark spots of touchups you’ve done yourself, red flags

might go off in their minds. They think, “This owner cut corners on the paint job, so where else did they ‘cheap

out’ and perform sloppy fixes?”

How to eliminate the turnoff: Inspect every inch

of your paint lines with care-ful attention to both ceiling and floor moldings. Touch up the whites of your moldings

ultra carefully, and consider repainting a room that has sloppy edges.

2) Too much stuff. “Espe-cially in an age of HGTV and home design shows, homebuy-ers expect a tidy, organized and pleasing home,” says Realtor George Jamieson. If your shelving units contain hundreds of books in all dif-ferent sizes and colors, collec-tions of keepsakes and family photos, buyers may see this as your space, not one that could be theirs. Cluttered shelves and kids’ rooms also look smaller, which buyers dislike.

How to eliminate the turn-off: Jamieson says that an experienced real estate agent can review your space with a careful eye for shelving units, mantels and other areas that look fine to you but would appear to buyers as holding too much stuff. Go through each display space and move the majority of your personal items into matching, lidded storage bins that can be moved and arranged — in an organized manner — in your attic or basement. Be sure to de-clutter your kitchen counter and island, removing decor items, to present a more spacious and visually pleasing area.

3) Dead or suffering plants. Buyers who plan to have plants in their home imme-diately assume the fault lies in a lack of natural sunlight and perhaps they may suspect dry air or hard water in your home.

How to eliminate the turn-off: Remove dead or suffering plants, and replace them with fresh, new, healthy ones. Or simply remove your battling plants from your home alto-gether, perhaps bringing them to your office or to a relative’s home.

4) Bad scents. Buyers will do an immediate about-face if they smell cigarette or cigar smoke, pet odors, or a musty smell. Surprisingly, overpow-ering air-scenting sprays or strong-scented candles also turn off buyers, who suspect them as a “masking trick,” covering up an odor issue in

Five unexpected turnoffs at an open house

Creators.com photo courtesy of AOL

Make sure your spaces are clear and uncluttered.

Please see TIPS, Page 21


your home.How to eliminate the

turnoff: Months before the open house, have the carpets in your home professionally cleaned (and expert carpet cleaners will also treat some couch materials). Forbid any smoking in your home, and switch to scent-eliminating cat box filler; also, change the litter box more often than usual.

Ask an honest friend to come into your home for a “sniff test” and report on any unpleasant odors in all spaces, including inside closets (which may require simple cedar hangers), in the basement, in kids’ rooms, and especially in teens’ rooms. You may be used to the scents of your home; your friend should be brutally honest, it’s in your interest. Two other crucial areas to de-scent: inside your refrigerator and inside your microwave, which buyers will open and check out.

5) Your being there. “Of course, home sellers are interested in how homebuy-ers react to their house but

to stick around for showings and open houses is one big way to turn off home buyers. It’s hard for homebuyers to relax when you, the seller, are there. It can turn off homebuyers when their first impression is to be guarded. You want potential homebuy-ers to feel free to explore and consider the possibilities of living in the house, and it’s hard to do that when the cur-rent homeowner is standing by,” says Jamieson.

How to eliminate the turn-off: Leave your home during your open house, and trust your agent to run the event successfully.

Additional turnoffs: any-thing fixed with duct tape, stained toilet bowls, rust rings around sink drains, items stuffed under the beds or thrown into closets (Buy-ers will look!) and anything in your medicine cabinet that would be embarrassing for your relatives to see. These are easy fixes to make with just a bit of extra effort, and these solutions could lead to the offer you’ve been waiting for.

TIPS: Clean, unclutteredContinued from Page 20



As you look forward to your open house and wowing potential buyers, you might be tempted to make some improvements to your home.

But before you order new marble countertops or remod-el your master bathroom, take note of this warning from Elizabeth Weintraub, broker associate with Lyon Real Estate: “Probably the most basic rule of all is that you should never — unless you absolutely don’t care at all about eventual resale value — improve a house to the point where its desired sales price would be more than 20 percent higher than the most expensive of the other houses in the immediate neighbor-hood. If you try to raise the value of your house too high, surrounding properties will

pull it down.”According to Weintraub,

major improvements such as room additions or total replacements of your kitchen and bath rarely pay off fully in the near term, and are unlikely to return their full cost if the house is sold within two or three years. Instead, “small and relatively inexpen-sive changes can pay off in a big way, making your home attractive to buyers if your decision is to move now.”

In addition to the big fac-tors of comparative pricing and return on large-budget home improvement projects is the reality that you may not have an extra $20,000 lying around with which to undertake a major remodel before your open house. The good news: You can boost your home’s ability to impress at an open house with just a $100 investment per small improvement.

Here are some easy-to-com-plete, stress-free and impres-sion-making improvements that you can plan for your open house’s optimal success:

1) Replace a lighting fix-ture in your kitchen or bath-room, putting in a more mod-ern design that provides more flattering illumination.

“My father-in-law taught me how to change a light fixture and do the wiring in just one afternoon,” says new homeowner Joseph Torres. If you don’t have a relative or friend with experience in light installation, your local Home Depot or Lowe’s store may offer a free class on the do’s and don’ts of light fixture installing. Call your store to inquire about their seminar schedule, and request one on lighting if they don’t already have a class planned. Real estate website HomeGain says lighting fixes provide an 865 percent average return on investment.

2) Replace all of the light-ing switch wallplates in your home. Upgrade to a style such

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as modern brushed nickel, create a uniform style from room to room on the first floor, and choose wallplates that coordinate with your bedrooms’ styles. This task can be completed for less than $40, depending on the num-ber of light switches in your home.

3) Clean all of your win-dows, inside and out, on an overcast day to prevent streaking, and remove all window screens to give them a good cleaning with a gentle brush and soapy water before rinsing and rehanging. Vac-uum and wipe clean inside each windowsill, including the tracks, and spray tracks with lubricant such as WD-40 for smoother, soundless opera-tion.

At your open house, potential buyers like to see new-looking windows that allow plenty of light into each room. Pristine, clear windows impress, and all for less than $25 in cleaning supplies. A stager’s secret: Raise your shades or blinds all the way up to the top to allow a great-er amount of light inside.

4) “Getting rid of dead trees and shrubs can have a very big and very positive impact on prospective buy-ers,” says Weintraub. Pulling up dead, aged or unattractive shrubs is free when you do the work yourself, and it can take just $100 in nutrient-rich soil and new green or flower-ing shrubs or flower flats at a nursery or Home Depot or Lowe’s to present attractive curb appeal and a well-plant-ed path to your front door. If your landscaping is fine, invest that $100 in fresh, new, healthy potted green plants for your indoor areas, plus a new “kitchen garden” planter full of herbs for your kitchen windowsill.

“We wanted buyers to imagine themselves cooking in this kitchen,” says homeseller Estella McNulty. “For $27, we bought a lush herb planter, and for $60, we bought a half-dozen green plants for our home’s decor.”

HomeGain.com says land-scaping fixes earn a 426 per-

cent average return on invest-ment.

5) Set out fresh bathroom linens. Use that $100 to buy matching, plush towels in spa-style neutral colors such as beige — not in colors the buy-er might not like, such as red or purple — and display those on towel racks, with match-ing hand towels and wash-cloths set on the vanity. Add a matching-shade new shower curtain and matching, fluffy new bathroom rugs to help guests envision this space as a relaxing, spa-like oasis.

A simple task that costs less than $100 can change the look and feel of a room, and small touches such as those wallplates impress buyers who walk in with an eagle eye for the little details. “A good bro-ker can help you decide which expenditures make sense and which don’t and can save you a lot of money in the process,” says Weintraub.

FIXES: InexpensiveContinued from Page 22

“You don’t need to stock everything you might one day need. That’s why there are stores.”

Spruce upWhile the garage is bare,

give it a thorough cleaning. Kristin Long, who owns the company The Organizational Specialists, recommends adding durable floor tiles or a fresh coat of paint. Mak-ing the garage more visually appealing will inspire you to keep it tidy. While you’re at it, wipe down all the warm-weather gear that is going to get stashed for the next eight months.

Build upwardLook at what’s left and

figure out where it will live in the garage, placing the most frequently used stuff in the most accessible loca-tions. Install shelving to

add vertical storage and get things off the floor. Clear bins are best so you can see what’s inside. Ecker recom-mends the ELFA system sold by The Container Store, say-ing it’s easy to install and adjust. If you’re feeling less ambitious, the snap-together plastic shelves sold at any big-box store work fine.

Use hooks to hang lad-ders, bikes, shovels and rakes. Mount pegboard on the wall to keep tools out of kids’ reach, and put dangerous substances like pesticides on high shelves. The garage ceiling is under-utilized, Ricci says, but with a ceiling storage system such as Hy-Loft, Racor Hydrau-lics Lifts or Onrax, you can stash stuff you only access once or twice a year, such as sleds or cushions for outdoor furniture.

If you do woodworking or crafts, metro shelving on

wheels gives you the flex-ibility to move supplies into the center of the garage or driveway. Ecker recommends the Uline brand.

Label everythingLabel containers using a

Sharpie or other permanent method. Be sure to label the container, not the shelf, so when bins get moved, items are still put in the correct place, Long says.

Maintain An organizing project is

only as good as its upkeep, Kutner says. Just as you take the car in for an oil change every 5,000 miles, when you start to see clutter accumulating, it’s time to do garage maintenance. If you buy something new, some-thing else has to go. When you take an item out to use it, put it away immediately after you’re done.

GARAGE: Clean, sort, organizeContinued from Page 19


Documents

2012 Fall Homes and Real Estate